With the viral outbreak spreading to more countries, the price of oil has dropped precipitously as global demand weakens even further, AP reported.
That has sent shares tumbling for oil giants like Exxon and Chevron while smaller producers with idling rigs continue to slash jobs.
Oil industry analysts fear that what they thought was a contained disruption may instead lead to more travel restrictions and even less oil consumed.
“That was the fear all along, that the virus would not be contained in China,” said Claudio Galimberti, head of demand, refining and agriculture at S&P Global Platts. “There are entire cities, and in some cases regions, that are in a lockdown. When you begin to have a lockdown, people work from home, factories shut down, people don’t travel. The impact on oil is very, very bad.”
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